The Land of Waldo

Another week has gone speeding past. Saturday, we finally got to go to a baseball game!

Nats-Phillies!

The Nationals played the Phillies in what turned out to be a pitchers’ duel (the pitchers’ duel was not great for the inexperienced baseball fans, as they could not understand what could possibly be interesting about teams not scoring). Nonetheless, from explaining the many intricacies of baseball to a Nationals walk-off in extra innings, it was certainly a great experience! After the game, many of us went for dinner in Chinatown. Chinatown was extremely cool! I had expected it to be a slight ghetto because of my prior experiences with other Chinatowns, but it was a very nice part of town where good Chinese food could be found for a good price. I have noticed that I have not mentioned any golf, but never fear! There is a golf course about a mile and a half from my apartment where I have been going on weekend mornings when I can. When I went on Sunday, the weather made for a perfect time. On a cloudy and mild day with very little wind, golf in DC is very fun! Sunday evening we watched the blood moon eclipse from our balcony. I say “watched,” but I mean we looked up, saw about 2 glimpses of the blood moon, but mostly saw the beloved cloud eclipse.

The week at my internship was extremely interesting. Lately, we’ve been doing an in-depth look at poverty, specifically structural poverty. It was very interesting to read many academic papers examining the potential causes for poverty, specifically racial inequality. I actually convinced my scholar to look into the work of Roland Fryer, a Harvard economist who specializes in the racial aspect of social economics. The weather has been very not-Texan of late. The sun hasn’t come out since Tuesday, and we’ve gotten 4-5 inches of rain. In addition, it has been quite brisk, with the temperature in the 50s for a couple of days now. Nevertheless, the sun and warmth are both supposed to return early next week. (Darn Joaquin, we wanted a day off because of a hurricane!). Finally, Thursday, we had movie night. We watched what was rumored to be the American version of a great international movie: The Loft. Well, it was not a classic; it was the strangest movie I’ve ever seen (seriously, look up the plot synopsis). For two hours after the movie, the Americans among us had not moved, still trying to comprehend what had just happened. Here’s to hoping we watch The Pursuit of Happyness next time.

Story of the Week: So, Belgium is divided into two parts: the Dutch-speaking north (Flanders) and the French-speaking south (Wallonia). I’ve known this for a long time (I have no clue why I know it). Anyway, I was talking with some of the Belgians, who are from the Dutch-speaking Flanders. I asked one of them about how a nationalist feeling must be different with two extremely culturally different regions. However, when I referenced the south, I mistakenly called it Waldonia. All of the Belgians have found this extremely funny, as apparently Waldonia translates to “Land of Waldo.” Needless to say, it’s a mistake I will never make again, as it is apparently the funniest, most American thing they’ve ever heard. As expected, they have bothered me about it endlessly since.